Philly in the Super Bowl? Not in the... Cards (sorry)

I was originally planning on doing a sort of list of thoughts I had during the game but a lot of it ended up being recaps of big plays that happened. Not funny and not interesting. Instead I decided to make a list of the things I learned during the NFC Championship game.

• Philly has a TE named Brent Celek (pronounced Sell-eck). I couldn't see if he had a sick mustache but if he doesn't, what an incredible waste of a last name. Celek manned up for two TDs on the day.
• Kevin Curtis is fast. I mean Don Beebe fast. I'm talking Brandon Stokley fast. This guy has the heart of Wayne Chrebet and he's as cagey as Ed McCaffrey. Just impressive. He looks like Wes Welker out there.
• Edge James is alive and well and apparently playing for Arizona, where old people go to die.
• I already knew Larry “Samson” Fitzgerald was a god among men. I guess Philly forgot their scissors today because Samson torched them for three TDs. Here’s what I wrote after all three. 1) Fitzgerald across the middle, left wide open. He breaks three tackles and gets in the endzone. The Cards look fired up. Can't say the same for the Philly D. Warner went 4-4 for 44 yards on the drive. Not a bad start. 2) Unbelievable play. Warner pitches it back to J.J. Arrington who throws it cross field to Kurt. Warner loads up with all his might and bombs it to Fitzgerald who is covered by a mere mortal. Predictably Samson embarrasses the guy, almost tripping himself by stepping on the defender’s chest, balance regained, 62 yards to the barn. 14-3. 3) Asante Samuel mugs Fitzgerald on what would have been an easy touchdown. 1st and Goal after the pass interference. Samuel then grabs his hamstring and winces like Kobe after a missed shot. Warner then throws the easiest fade route I've ever seen to Fitzgerald for his 3rd TD.
• Donovan McNabb still has wheels, and he has a sense of humor. I actually thought it was funny when he picked up the phone on the Giants’ sideline last week. This week after his TD to DeSean Jackson he busted out a sweet little dance that reminded me of my boss walking into a meeting shooting jokes from the hip*. “Hey, I see we have Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the house tonight. 62 yards to the house? I haven’t see someone taken deep like that since that donkey show in Tijuana. Heyooo! I haven’t made a pass like that since Coach Reid’s wife. Heyoooo, you I’m just kidding Andy, who loves ya?”
• DeSean Jackson is only a rookie but he’s showing signs of being a great player, further removed from the days of him dropping balls on the 1 yard line. He made an great play with almost 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter. McNabb fired a pass across the middle, it was deflected and consequently intercepted by Aaron Francisco. Francisco ran it back probably 20 yards and was run down from behind by DeSean Jackson who tomahawked the ball, causing Francisco to fumble. The Eagles recovered. All-in-all they lost 8 yards on the play but it was a 1st and 10 because of the change of possession. That could have been a game changer.
• Here’s what I wrote about Arizona’s gameplan coming in; The Cards have come out with an incredible game plan, picking the Eagles' aggressive D apart with misdirection and screen passes. Warner is getting the ball off quickly to underneath routes. Pretty incredible coaching if you ask me. Besides the long pass to Fitzgerald, the Cards have shown themselves to be content with gaining small to medium chunks of easy yardage. Key stats - Kurt Warner 10 for 11, 153 yards, 3 TDs. Larry Fitzgerald 5 catches for 99 yards, 3 TDs. 3 minutes left in the 2nd. The Eagles better find an answer for this combo soon.
• Quintin Demps is a cheap shot artist - Quintin Demps takes a flat-out cheap shot at Kurt Warner well after the play, right in front of a referee. Warner and Demps were literally standing next to each other and Demps leveled him. Hey Demps, the Cards don't need your help to move the ball on your shell-shocked D.
• NFL referees are still bad; 4th and 10 for the Eagles. The Cards blitz, McNabb does a good job of avoiding, passes to Kevin Curtis who gets tackled by Roderick Hood before the ball gets there and there's no call. Tough way to lose. There's still a chance but the Eagles have to prevent the Cards from gaining a 1st down on their next drive.
• Nobody deserves this more than Adrian Wilson, Larry Fitzgerald, and Kurt Warner. Big games from all 3 of them. Adrian Wilson spent his entire career with this team and his loyalty pays off with a trip to the Super Bowl in 2 weeks. He had 7 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble in the game. Kurt Warner already has a Super Bowl championship and an MVP yet nobody gave him a chance as a starter. He won the starting nod over Matt Leinart and now has led the Arizona Cardinals to their 1st ever Super Bowl. Larry Fitzgerald has played the best postseason of anybody I can remember. He caught everything thrown to him, he made plays after the catch, and he inspired teammates with his infectious enthusiasm. He also now holds the record for the most receiving yards in a postseason and he still has one more game to play.
• This Arizona team plays with emotion. It was great to watch guys like Larry Fitzgerald (probably the best WR in the league) jump around like school girls after their last touchdown. Kneeling on the sidelines as the time ran down, you could see genuine tears in his eyes as well as the eyes of many of his teammates. Adrian Wilson, who was rock solid all game, let it all out during a postgame interview. He could hardly express how he felt in words but you could see where that team’s heart and drive came from. The much maligned Arizona D stopped Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, and Brian Westbrook in three straight games. They are playing out of their heads right now and I truly believe that they have a legitimate shot of beating the Steelers. As long as Warner can avoid turnovers and their D can hold Willie Parker to a mediocre game, they can certainly do it. Preparation is the key to the game, they came out of the gates against Philly with a plan on how to attack what the Eagles did best on D. Can they do the same against the best D in the league?

-PSon